Sometimes A Path Less Taken Is The Right Path For You

At the mid-year mark for 12th graders, a common question is . . . “what are you going to do next year”. Here in modestly affluent suburbia . . . the unspoken expectation is college. So that question might as well be “what college do you want to go to?” Which is a fine question . . . → Read More: Sometimes A Path Less Taken Is The Right Path For You

Into Every Life A Little Rain Must Fall–Some Thoughts On Being Prepared

One of the expectations that I have for patients I work is that they are connected with a therapist. My role has been to evaluate for the need for medicine and to periodically assess how well that medicine is working. Medicine is rarely THE answer to behavioral health needs, especially when a patient first arrives . . . → Read More: Into Every Life A Little Rain Must Fall–Some Thoughts On Being Prepared

Is Vitamin B Deficiency A Risk In A Gluten Free Diet?

Awareness of the impact on Celiac disease and gluten intolerance has grown in recent years. In these patients, ingestion of gluten (a protein prevelant in wheat products, but in other grains as well) causes damage to the lining of the intestine as the body treats it like any other allergen. For those of you who . . . → Read More: Is Vitamin B Deficiency A Risk In A Gluten Free Diet?

Getting Better: Choosing a Greater Happiness

The last few mornings I have been reading and meditating on the following passage from a book entitled The Still Point Dhammapada:

“By giving up a lesser happiness one may gain a much greater one. Let the wise give up the lesser to attain the greater.”

As I sat, repeating that passage to myself . . . . → Read More: Getting Better: Choosing a Greater Happiness

Adjusting Medicine Over The Summer Part I–Antidepressants

A common question as we head into the summer months is what to do about medications. Most parents (and some kids) are very reluctant to change medications over the school year since a return of symptoms covered by the medicine can be very, very disruptive. Summertime is the logical time to consider some changes. Antidepressants . . . → Read More: Adjusting Medicine Over The Summer Part I–Antidepressants

Peeling The Onion–More Is Not Always Better

Once again . . . I find I am on the receiving end of another doc’s desperate attempt to control symptoms. The layering of medicine on top of medicine is an inherent problem in Western Medicine. After all, we are spending more and more of our hard earned dollars to go to see someone for . . . → Read More: Peeling The Onion–More Is Not Always Better

Book Report: The Book I Wish I Had Written . . . The Do-It-Yourself Guide To Fighting The Big Motherfuckin’ Sad by Adam Gnade

Once loyal readers may have noticed I have not been posting too much recently. Not to say I haven’t thought about it . . . it just seems like between work and home and everything in between my creative juices were tapped just keeping things going. Life is like that, no? I have been reading, . . . → Read More: Book Report: The Book I Wish I Had Written . . . The Do-It-Yourself Guide To Fighting The Big Motherfuckin’ Sad by Adam Gnade

The Cost Of Ignoring ADHD

I interviewed a young man this past week who had recently had to take a second medical withdrawal from a prestigious (and expensive) university because of debilitating symptoms of depression. It struck him in the spring semester last year (his Freshman year) and then again this fall. Over the summer, he had seemed to get . . . → Read More: The Cost Of Ignoring ADHD

Toxic Effects of Chronic Stress–Bad for Adults, Even Worse For Kids

I came across an article in the September/October 2012 issue of Scientific American MIND concerning the effect that stress can have on children and their capacity to learn. The researcher summarized years of work and ongoing studies showing the effect of stress hormones on the developing neural connections in the prefrontal cortex (the part of . . . → Read More: Toxic Effects of Chronic Stress–Bad for Adults, Even Worse For Kids

“So What Does It Mean To Be Emotionally Well?”

I was working a health fair last weekend. Standing there at my table with my big ol’ sign behind me announcing myself as a “Partner in the Pursuit of Emotional Wellness” was interesting to say the least. Being a shrink is an odd job. I am more used to talking to people about their deepest . . . → Read More: “So What Does It Mean To Be Emotionally Well?”